ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Overview. In the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an albatross follows a ship setting out to sea, which is considered a sign of good luck. However, the titular mariner shoots the albatross with a crossbow, an act that will curse the ship and cause it to suffer terrible mishaps.

Detailed explanation-2: -The ungrateful Mariner then shoots and kills the albatross with his crossbow, whereupon the ship is becalmed for days on end and the sailors begin dying of thirst as told in the poem’s best-known line, “Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”

Detailed explanation-3: -In the poem, the mariner kills a good luck albatross with a crossbow. As punishment, his shipmates make him wear the bird around his neck-that is, before they turn into zombies. By the end of his adventure, the Ancient Mariner learns it is a very bad idea to mess with albatross.

Detailed explanation-4: -The mariner shot the albatross because he believed that it was an unlucky omen and the source of their diminished wind. He believed that, once the albatross was dead, the wind would return, and they would be able to cross the ocean at a much greater speed.

Detailed explanation-5: -Ancient mariner narrates the story to a man bound for a wedding. Marriage is a symbol of union. Killing of the albatross is a symbol of disunity between man and animals.